


Boys Day Out

by Cutekittenlady



Series: Super Lion- A Superhero AU [5]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, Hunk is an unconventional hero, kallura and hunay mentioned, superhero au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-01
Updated: 2017-11-01
Packaged: 2019-01-27 17:07:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12586620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cutekittenlady/pseuds/Cutekittenlady
Summary: Keith adjusts to his new social circle and meets a rather unconventional hero.





	Boys Day Out

**Author's Note:**

> Get to know me on Twitter @cutekittenlady  
> And on my tumblr fic blog http://cutekittenlady.tumblr.com/

Hunk enjoyed it when he and Shay hung out with their friends.

They were lucky enough to move in the same circles and so most of their friends were shared acquaintances.

Lance and Pidge had been his friends since before Hunk had even met Shay. Allura’s mom had been a friend of Shay’s family. So their relationship reached all the way back to their days in the nursery. 

Hunk and Shay had met in the library where they found that PIdge and her brother knew both Shay and Allura from Matt’s classes.  _ Then  _ they realized, after some painfully obvious flirting, that Lance actually had a bit of an unrequited crush on Allura.

From there, their assorted friend group just sorta formed on its own. Hanging out at each other's homes and apartments, group study sessions, and occasional food based outings became the norm. 

To the point that the second Keith Kogane was assigned as Allura’s lab partner, he was absorbed into the group almost against his will.

This had the result of Keith being the odd man out. He was the only one in the group not previously acquainted with anyone else save Allura. Even then they’d only really been on speaking terms for a short while.

Even then Lance didn’t take too well to the knowledge that Keith and Allura spent so much time together.

Jealousy was a powerful thing after all.

“So do you cut your hair, like, ever?”

“Why would you ask me that?”

Normally, finding a new coffee house was Hunk’s chance to relax and absorb the calming atmosphere. Sit in a corner with a hot cup of coffee, talk to friends, and just let the aroma of roasted coffee beans wash over him.

Unfortunately, with all the girls absent that left Hunk playing moderator between Lance and Keith’s animosity. (He had a fairly good idea as to the reason for Shay’s absence. Especially after his phone gave him a new alert of a robbery in the area.)

“Look, I’m just saying it wouldn’t hurt to hit up a hair salon or something.” Lance shrugged in an overly exaggerated non-committed display.

“Why would you pay to cut your hair?” Keith’s hands flew into the air in irritation. “I own a pair of scissors. It makes more sense to just cut it myself!”

Hunk cut in.

“Speaking of hair, Allura’s is pretty rad right?”

Both boys paused.

Lance stared intently at Keith. Waiting for a response.

“I… I guess?”

“What do you mean ‘I guess’?!” Lance sounded scandalized. “She only has the best hair of any woman I’ve ever seen!”

He leaned back looking wistful.

“Man I  _ wish  _ she’d tell me what shampoo she uses.”

Keith glanced at Hunk, prompting a sheepish grin and non-committal shrug.

Out of anyone Hunk knew, man or woman alike, no one took personal grooming as seriously as Lance did. He used special face wash, shampoo, and even toothpaste. He’d asked Hunk for dietary recommendations. Even his sleep schedule was optimized to reduce aging.

The results, as the saying went, spoke for themselves.

Lance was handsomely groomed, accentuating his already boyish features. Despite this, he wasn’t entirely successful with the women he tended to take an interest in. Mainly because he tended to start conversations with women with pick up lines that wouldn’t be out of place in a cheesy spy flick.

Keith huffed and stammered, “Look I don’t- I-I don’t even know why you’re making such a big deal out of my hair. I mean Pidge cuts her own hair, and you never give  _ her  _ grief about it.”

Hunk shifted his gaze to Lance and watched as he attempted the mental gymnastics of reapplying his hair logic to a girl who’s idea of daily haircare was jog through a shower and a comb.

“Well… she… her hair’s got that… that natural curl to it. Y’know? So when SHE does it, it actually looks good.” Lance paused and nodded his head. Apparently satisfied with this answer.

“Why are we even talking about Allura and Pidge’s hair?! They aren’t even here!”

“Yeah well, Pidge had to call off. Something about her forgetting that she had a test in one of her classes coming up and wanting to cram for it.”

Hunk frowned, his brow knitting in confusion. “That’s not like her. I mean usually she has tests bookmarked on her phone and everything.”

Lance turned to face away from Hunk and out the window.

“Yeah well, she’s had a lot on her mind lately. So can you blame her?”

An uncomfortable silence fell over the table as Hunk scratched the back of his neck awkwardly and Keith blinked in confused obliviousness.

The disappearance of Pidge’s father, and more recently her brother, was a fact that nearly everyone in the group (save for Keith) was unfortunately aware. None of them brought up the subject in front of her, and even in her absence only referenced it vaguely. Hunk had thought about asking Shay to look into the matter but had decided it was too much to ask. Afterall, if even the police couldn’t find the Holts, what reason did he have to think a superhero could?

Keith opened his mouth to speak but stopped as a buzzing sound came from his pocket. They all paused and watched as he fished into his trousers and withdrew his phone. He stared at the screen for a minute before sighing and looking up into Hunk and Lance’s questioning faces. 

“Allura’s not coming either.” He chuckled awkwardly. “She always does this.”

Without warning, Lance suddenly leaned over the table and tried to get a look at Keith’s screen prompting him to yank his phone back and glare. 

Unperturbed, Lance narrowed his eyes and asked, “Why would YOU have Allura’s number?”

“Because she  _ gave  _ it me?”

Lance snorted. “Yeah right.”

Hunk swallowed, as Keith’s face hardened and barely suppressed a scowl as he leaned over the table towards Lance.

“Why would I lie about that?”

Lance’s face inched closer to Keith’s, his face also hardening.

“Allura doesn’t give out her number to just  _ anyone _ . She’s classier than that.”

“Not just  _ anyone _ ? Or just not  _ you _ ?”

Their foreheads were touching now, and Hunk knew that if he didn’t do something quick… well, he didn’t know what would happen but it wouldn’t be good.

“Sirs?” A hesitant and quiet voice caused all three to turn and see a small nervous looking woman in an apron standing just a foot or so to the side. Eyes darting between the three nervously. “Is… Is there a problem?”

Lance and Keith glanced at each other and sat down.

“No.” They both spoke in unison while trying very hard to pretend they hadn’t.

The woman looked to Hunk, who smiled sheepishly and shrugged.

“Well, your coffee's ready.” She carefully placed three steaming mugs of brew in front of them before taking her leave. “E-enjoy.”

“Ah, thank you!” Hunk chuckled gratefully. Happy for the interruption as Keith and Lance shifted their attention onto their respective mugs and away from each other.

Sighing in bliss, he savored the moment of silence before bringing the mug of coffee to his nose and sniffing. The smell was… alright? Underwhelming, but there was the faintest hint of hazelnut.

He looked at the others to gauge their reaction.

Lance’s mug sat untouched on the table. But that was nothing unusual. Lance tended to wait until his coffee cooled before drinking. Though Hunk wished he would pay more attention so the drink didn’t go cold.

Keith, on the other hand, sat drinking from his own mug with a purely neutral expression. He didn’t seem to recoil from any kind of bad taste. So maybe it was alright?

Gingerly, Hunk sipped his drink.

And immediately spat it back into the mug.

“Ugh.” 

Lance looked at Hunk in surprised, before taking up his own mug and taking an experimental drink.

Which he then promptly spat into the nearby potted plant.

“This stuff tastes like gutter water.”

Keith paused in his drinking to give them both a quizzical look.

“What tastes like gutter water?”

“The coffee obviously!” Lance hissed.

Blinking, Keith looked down at the mug in his hand and took another sip. He smacked his lips, paused, and then shrugged.

“Coffee is coffee.”

Hunk’s eyes widened and looked scandalized.

“Coffee is NOT just coffee. Coffee Making is an art form!” He swirled the mug in his hand and looked at it with distaste. “Not only did they grind the coffee too fine, they didn't let it steep long enough! It’s not even really fresh, just heated!”

He glared at the offensive beverage (which, now that he looked at it, was much too clear to be properly made coffee), and pouted. The atmosphere of the coffee house had been so fantastic, that he’d been expecting something a little more impressive. Now, what little good mood he’d had was dashed. Keith’s rather bewildered expression and Lance’s look of disappointment didn’t help matters.

In a way, it was actually good that Shay and the other girls had had to skip out. Otherwise, they’d have all had to have experienced this collective disappointment together. Hunk sadly turned his gaze onto the rest of the cafe and was disappointed to see a collection of bored, mediocre faces just biding time.

Newfound determination filled his being and Hunk stood up suddenly.

“I, uh, I gotta go to the bathroom.” 

Lance and Keith watched him hurry away.

“Did he seem okay to you?” Keith asked.

Lance shrugged. “When ya gotta go. Ya gotta go.”

“If you say so…”

* * *

 

Keith wasn’t used to being around a lot of people. Or at least not a lot of people he  _ knew _ . Normally, he just sat by himself in public and busied himself with his schoolwork. But ever since he’d begun spending time around Allura he seemed to be running into people he knew all the time.

Whether it was in the library, at the park, in line at the supermarket; there always seemed to be a familiar face there to greet him. He knew that it was a bit of an over dramatic exaggeration to say he was meeting people everywhere, but that was how it felt to him. 

One day he lived his life surrounded by strangers. Strangers whose names and faces he knew and could remember, but strangers all the same. Now, however, he knew all kinds of things about the people he ran into.

He knew, for instance, that Pidge tended to spend a lot of her time on the computer. That Lance and Hunk were roommates. That Hunk wasn’t just a foodie but a downright gourmet.

He’d learned about Shay and Allura’s long-standing friendship. Noticed glances and smiles whenever Shay and Hunk would compliment one another and smile. The rather baffling animosity Lance had for Keith was hard to miss.

And he knew Allura was altean woman.

Keith stirred his watery lukewarm coffee in contemplation.

He knew.

He knew and didn’t know what to do about it.

What  _ could  _ he do about it?

He certainly couldn’t tell Allura he knew. While she was a hero there was no telling what she might do to keep her identity a secret.

Telling anyone else was out of the question. Allura was a college student attempting to get a degree while spending all her free time-saving lives. The last thing she needed was media attention and a target on her and her families back.

Though he paused to wonder if any of the others knew about Allura’s secret identity. Afterall they’d known her for some time. Shay, at least, had been friends with her since the cradle. It seemed unbelievable that none of the knew.

Then again it also seemed unbelievable that someone like Allura ran around punching monsters in the face. But there it was. So Keith supposed it wasn’t impossible for her to have successfully hidden her identity.

Coran, however, he was sure knew the truth. Hiding something like this from someone you lived with was a bit of a stretch. No matter how careful you were it would be almost impossible to keep a secret identity from someone so close. Unless they were especially trusting or otherwise blind to the obvious.

Despite who knew and who didn’t, this superheroing stuff was having a serious effect on Allura. She was late to class more and more often. Even when he was on time she was haggard and tired. Half the time she’d had to ask around for extra notes.

Some of the other students were starting to talk behind her back and Keith had been surprised to realize how angry that made him. Here was a secret superhero, running herself ragged to keep the town safe, and all his classmates could do was snicker behind her back. Mind, none of them knew she was a superhero, but it wouldn’t be okay even if she wasn’t.

Allura, or Altean Woman, or whatever had saved his life. He wanted to repay her somehow. Do something to let her know she was appreciated.

He looked across the table at Lance and chewed his tongue. The guy certainly seemed to know more about this kind of thing than he did and he’d known Allura far longer. So if anyone could tell him what to do it’d be Lance.

But he’d have to ask him in a way that wouldn’t expose Allura’s secret.

“So, uhm Lance?” The other boy looked up from his disappointing beverage. “I, uh, wanted to ask-”

“SHAMELESS!”

Both Keith and Lance turned.

“S-sir? I-I don’t think you’re allowed to stand on the tables.” The nervous waitress from before was speaking to a masked man, who had dramatically leaped onto a nearby table.

A masked man with a very familiar build and voice who Keith was reasonably sure had just burst from the nearby bathroom.

He stared slack-jawed at the display but before he could get his bearings straight and ask Lance what exactly it was their friend was doing, the masked figure spoke.

“To entrap these customers with the promise of excellent atmosphere and then delivering subpar food and beverages?! It is a shameless disregard for everything coffeehouses stand for!”

He gestured dramatically towards the back.

“I demand to see all who own and run this establishment post haste!”

It was like something out of a dream. An extremely lucid dream likely brought about by eating some fuzzy left over pizza before bed. What was even weirder was the way the people from the surrounding tables suddenly began to whisper excitedly amongst themselves.

“Oh my god.” He heard Lance gasp under his breath. “It’s the masked chef!”

Keith let this statement sink in before asking, “The  _ what _ ?”

“The Masked Chef!” Lance looked at Keith incredulously. “You’ve never heard of him?”

“No?”

He was given a scandalized look.

“I don’t eat out a lot okay?” He explained irritably. “So it’s never come up before!”

Lance gave a resigned sigh and began to explain as the “Masked Chef” pushed his way into the back.

“The Masked Chef is a superhero  Of the  _ culinary  _ world. He shows up at local food places with bad reps and coaches them into becoming better. He’s like Gordon Ramsey in a cape.”

“Who’s Gordon Ramsey?”

Lance gave Keith a dead stare.

“What?”

“Look, the point is no one knows who he is and he shows up at random. So having him show up now is a real treat.” He frowned. “Though if Hunk doesn’t get out of the restroom soon he’s gonna miss the whole thing.”

Keith stared at Lance incomprehensibly. He kept glancing between him and the door to the kitchen. Wondering if he was being serious, or was just a very good actor. It was only when the “Masked Chef” reappeared that Keith realized that Lance, despite all the evidence, truly didn’t realize the large man’s true identity.

He watched as everyone present happily accepted new steaming mugs of coffee, and delicious looking sandwiches, with happy looks on their faces. How the masked man drilled the cooks and servers like an army sergeant. How he soothed and coached the nervous waitress from before.

The whole display had actually been quite… nice.

At first seeing Hunk run around in a mask and cape and declare himself like a stage actor had been awkward and even funny in a way. But now, seeing the stony silence replaced with a vibrant chatter, had changed his point of view. The coffee and sandwich that had been handed to him certainly helped.

He’d never tasted food quite like this. Growing up, his father had never been great at cooking though he tried his best. His extended family hadn’t been much better. The food they made was more functional than delicious. Though a part of Keith suspected that had a lot more to do with their own physical limitations rather than lack of skill.

“Is everything to your liking?”

Keith turned to see Hunk, or rather the Masked Chef, standing over him with a twinkle in his eye.

“It’s delicious.” Lance sighed in bliss as he sank into his seat. “It’s too bad Hunk hasn’t come back yet, he’d  _ love  _ this.”

The smile the superhero gave was beaming with some hidden appreciation.

Staring down at his own mug of brew, Keith couldn’t help but be reminded of Allura and the thankless things she did.

So, after taking a nice long sip of coffee he said, “It’s… good. Thank you.”

Hunk beamed even brighter than before and hurried over to the next table. As he watched him go Keith noted that this made  _ two  _ secret identities he’d probably have to keep tight-lipped about in the future.

Not that that bothered him much now.


End file.
